Single digits

As my remaining time ticks down to single digits in terms of days, here's a brief summary of what I have managed to achieve (and otherwise) in the past three months of coming home:

I have:
'Rediscovered' God
Met new friends but lost contact with some
Met an amazing young lady
Taken up jogging
Discovered I have weaknesses I was not fully aware of
Been working on those weaknesses
Learnt the importance of patience
Learnt to accept the smallest of opportunities although I might not like them
Dyed my hair

I have not:
Done much revision
Learnt French yet

Summary: I am undergoing a major change in my life as I approach adulthood.

Hmm.. what else? Are there really so few nays? No idea...

Hair do

Me: Mum, I'm going to dye my hair tomorrow
Mum: WHATTT?!??! Are you mad!!??
Me: For fun only lah, not going to do a permanent one
Mum: Crazy ah, you're going to damage your hair!
Me: Aiyo... not the whole hair la, just streaking it here and there
Mum: You have so much money to be able go and do it?

So, off I go to get my hair streaked in a couple of days time, at my trustworthy hairdresser ;)

Triple figure CD?

How many of you would pay RM200 for a pirated CD program? That was the mad price quoted to me by the storeowner of a small dodgy store in Low Yat Plaza when I was looking for a certain piece of engineering software.

Naturally, my first reaction was "OMG what the hell." "Very difficult to get this program, that's why we need to sell it for this price." Since countless other stores did not carry that particular piece of software, and I have been looking for it since last year, I was preparing myself to part with the ridiculous amount of money, eventhough my logical being was tugging me away.

Finally after a couple of minutes of pondering I decided to put it on hold, and continued on with my search. Store assistant after store assistant pointed me towards their engineering software section the moment 'excuse me, I'm looking for engineering....' were barely uttered. Silly people wouldn't even help potential buyers, so I would either walk out or spend time flipping through the CDs in vain.

At last I chanced upon a store (for some reason they had NFSU:2 CDs for display?!!?) and asked the friendly and helpful owner for assistance. To my great relief he informed me that he had just received the program I was looking for, and the best bit was that he was selling it to me for RM5 per CD. Wooot! Although I have to wait till Monday to get it since he hadn't burnt any copies yet, but heck, its all good :)

'Riiiiinnngggg' z_z

Its freaky when at two in the morning, the house phone suddenly rings for no apparent reason; and when I pick it up to answer and go hello, it goes dead. Possible explanations?

1) 'Ghost'. Doesn't seem right
2) Some one wants to check if anyone is home. Freaks me out a lot; for all I know, if I didn't answer it, a few men would have attempted to break in within the hour or something. Popular thief tactic.
3) Some circuit problem. Never heard of it before though, just pure speculation.
4) Some silly idiot called the wrong number, and in typical Malaysian fashion just cuts the phone straight off when realising it's the wrong person. Most comforting of all reasons, although the fact it happened in the early morning makes it... fishy.

Finger acrobatics

Ever wondered what some bored students and office people do in their free time when they don't feel like doing revision or the boss isn't around? Here you go.

Cheap ethanol mmm

If there is anywhere that the people would never get affected by increases of 'sin taxes' in the country's budget, it would have to be Langkawi island. Liquour and beer and cigarettes and cigars go for a fraction of what it would cost anywhere else in Malaysia.

For example, a bottle of Bacardi Limon 1L that I purchased cost me only Rm45. In KL that same bottle would easily cost over RM100. A 1L bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label cost RM60 in comparison with the pub price of RM180. A can of Carlsberg or Guinness costsRM1.40, which is the same as the price of a can of Coke in some places. Plenty of liquor from all over the world; and plenty of variety can be found in a simple shop in comparison with a liquor specialist in KL A 200 cigarette carton of Dunhill costs RM35. Et cetera.

But for some strange reason, the hotels and resorts charge similar prices for alcohol as one might pay for in KL; I'm not too sure whether it is because they're trying to make a quick buck or because they are subjected to pay for the duty. Hmmm..

Jacuzzi

I just have to say this: lying down in the jacuzzi with the warm jets of water pummeling your sides and arms and legs for 45 minutes followed by a warm shower is bliss on a cold rainy day.

Uni

Pictured below is a Japanese temaki roll, of which I decided to be a lot more adventurous than usual; hence instead of the usual California/ salmon roll, I went for:




Still figuring out what on earth is that?

Perhaps this might help:



Okay well, its actually the roe of sea urchins, not the sea urchins themselves. :P

How does something so exotic taste like? I'm happy to report that its soft and melt in your mouth, with the consistency not unlike that of fine raw fish eggs (the kind the Indians use to deep fry and put with their banana leaf rice). Absolutely flavourful, especially with the addition of a mint leaf. If you're adventurous or want something really exotically Japanese, this is the way to go.

Obtained from: some Japanese restaurant in Subang which I forgot the name of.

Sangria

'Blood' in Spanish, this punch consists of red wine mixed with fruit juices, soda water and fruit. The version I had came with orange juice and had little pieces of lemon and lime floating in it, as can be seen below.



Not particularly strong, but as I don't drink regularly some of it was enough to make me feel sleepy and lose some focus as I drove. I think I prefer the non-alcoholic version better, but it reminds me of some expensive fruit punch. Yes I know, it looks cheap, but only because I took the picture after taking away in a plastic cup the remainder of what was left. It is however, better than the sangria that I had in a bar in Luxembourg.

Obtained at: Basque Lane Restaurant, Mont Kiara.

p.s. apologies for the lousy pic, was taken using my camera phone as my digicam is currently MIA.

Finally, Tolkien!

I have finally landed a copy of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Anyone who knows and has seen my mini-library would be taken aback. Somehow most of the time I just never land my hands on the most popular of books until at a much later date, and the hype for the past four or so years as they made a movie trilogy out of it pushed away the desire even more.

Its a book that I must say I have been dying to read since my early days of secondary school, and only two weeks ago I walked into MPH Subang Jaya, doing particularly nothing but wanting to look around out of boredom.

And there it was, a large cardboard cut out with several variations screaming at me. A large part of me was decidedly embarassed to want to buy it now especially after all that hype generated by the release of the movie trilogy (I didn't want to be seen as those who felt like getting the book only after watching the movie); but desire to fulfill an unfulfilled pubescent wish and to compare both the Works of Art (literature and film) prevailed. I picked the copy which has all three volumes in it.

Now if you excuse me, time to get down to reading all 1000++ pages of it. Not that long, the longest I've ever read is in excess of 4000 pages. Soon I can proudly claim to be in the part of the English-speaking world who has actually read it.

Huff puff

I've recently taken up jogging once again, putting the then dusty treadmill to good use after some time of neglect. On the first try itself I managed to muster one kilometre in around twenty minutes, then raised it up to one mile, and now to two kilometres. Learnt the painful way that one should wear jogging shoes because the padding on the treadmill is non existant.

Why at home instead of the neighbourhood? Well, first of all is that I already have a treadmill at home, so I might as well use it. Secondly is because I don't exactly know how far I would have jogged if I did around the neighbourhood, and what if I needed to get home quickly in case of an emergency? Besides, I do not have to take into account the rain and the hot sun. And the ease of being able to simply step off the treadmill for a few seconds to get a swig of some isotonic drink then getting back on.

To be honest I'm surprised I could even last the first kilometre, since I used to be quite a lazy bum, and my aching knees were screaming out for respite. However a quick prayer for perseverance and discipline did wonders into helping me endure the torture. Hehe :p

The plus point is that I'm not so lethargic mentally these days, however my limbs (especially the knees) do take a beating, but I suppose it'd get better as my muscles grow accustomed to more brutality. Ironically, it feels good to sweat considering I hate it when my clothes cling stickily to my body.

The Price of Lust

Reading the New Sunday Times, I noticed a rather interesting ad put up by Telekom Malaysia on page 8, the broadsheet edition.

It reads:

"TMNet would like to highlight that there has been an increase in the number of complaints from customers on IDD call charges made to international destinations without their consent or knowledge

We would like to inform customers that in most cases, these happen when they access certain paid international content sites, for example adult entertainment (read: porn) sites." et cetera.

Now, what exactly happens? Most of these sites contain code that download dialer programs onto a user's computer, which then execute, forcing the internet connection to get severed and making an international call to a foreign far away country, say Vanuatu.

Does all this happen with the user's knowledge or consent? Yes. Like most 'businesses', these sites usually carry fine print, warning the user that he would be disconnected from the Internet and get dialled into another country, usually in the Carribean. But I suppose those horny idiots are too concerned about fulfilling their lust to want to bother reading the disclaimer. And they pay the price for it, shamelessly complaining to Telekom about 'excessive IDD charges'. Bear in mind that it is a phenomenon (if it can be called that) that is faced even in developed nations. I recall reading about it in a column in one of the UK's broadsheets.

Perhaps the police want to obtain a list of complainees and charge them with watching pornography? Then again, they can't seem to be able to even deal with another more obvious source of this: VCD/DVD sellers.

I want to sleeeeeeeppppp

Stupid flu arghhh dammit I want to sleep not cough the whole night long and finding it impossible to sleep especially when I need to wake early!!!!!!!!!!!

Behind every successful man...

.. is a woman. Or in my case, several women, although I must admit I'm not exactly successful at all to begin with!

This is just to pay a short tribute to the major female influences in my life; to the three women who have contributed the most into shaping me as to how I am today, and in the future as well.

First up would be the woman who gave me to the world. Yup, my very own mother. Without her, Patrick would not exist to begin with :O Someone who gives her sweat and blood for me and family, yet many times I have not given her due appreciation. Someone who has always been there waiting to give me advise in anyway as long as I had the humility and asked her instead of clamming up my problems to myself.

Next on the honours roll would be Eunice. Thank you for always being there for me when I needed you most, and for all your help and advise. Rarely is there a better friend :)

And the fine young lady, Stephanie. How difficult it is to resist this charming, loveable lady! I've learnt a lot from you; thank you for everything.

I love you all!

Intimacy.. yes? no?

How many of us can recall the first time we held hands with someone who means the world to you? Putting your fingers on theirs slowly at first, then slowly clasping their hand and enjoying the moment. Okay, it isn't exactly intimacy, but it is a different feeling from holding hands with normal friends during, say, prayer. Or perhaps the first hug, when you can literally feel the other's body pressing against yours. Or the first time you put your arm around her hips? Or maybe the first time those lips touched those of the other, sending electric waves coursing through the body?

How appropriate is it?

Society dictates that we should enjoy it all and throw away all abandonment. In fact, we are encouraged to feed our lust and to engage in (premarital) sex. Just do it, or so they say, just as the tagline of a certain sports manufacturer goes.

Sure, intimacy is pleasurable, I give it that. It awakens new feelings (that are difficult to go away) for the other; it is meant to be felt by the two people who are in a relationship. Its no excuse however, to push the limits, something that I'm guilty of at times . Its no excuse to want to be selfish and demand more for the satisfaction of the self while not taking into account the other. A classic would be the line 'If you love me, you'll have sex with me'. A line that can be translated into: 'I only care about what I feel, I don't care about however you feel, I want you to satisfy me now no matter what the consquences.'

Therefore, how much intimacy is appropriate in a relationship? A good guideline would be 'the joy of intimacy is the reward of commitment'. What does that mean? It simply means that the amount of intimacy between couples should be according to the commitment between each other. Or in scientific terms, a correlation can be established between intimacy and commitment.

This means that if two people in a relationship know that they cannot commit (i.e. 'for fun'), they shouldn't be intimate at all. And of course, the ultimate form of intimacy should be saved for the ultimate commitment: sex after marriage. It is difficult to gauge anything else between the two extremities because commitment is subjective and the conditions that nurture it are unique for each relationship; the two involved though should be able to tell how committed they are and what level of intimacy is appropriate.

Well heck, at least that's what the idea suggests. I think its a guideline worth serious considering. Those of you who haven't had intimacy before, my advise to you is to not be desperate for the sake of it. It will be well worth the wait :)

Running After You

Your Word is a light unto my path
Your Love guides me through my darkest night
And even though sometimes Your ways
I cannot understand
I’ll never walk away because my future’s
In Your hands

I don’t care what people will say
I’m running after You
I won’t turn back and go their way
Coz I’m running after You
Yeah I’m running after You
I’m running after You
(I will run to You)

I don’t care what people will say
I’m running after You
I won’t turn back and go their way
Coz I’m running after You
Don’t matter what may come my way
I’m running after you
It’s You I’m following today
I’m running after You

I’m running after You

- Running After You, Planet Shakers

Integrity Integrated Into Corruption

Woot.. For the first time ever I've received a summons for speeding. Hardly surprising I guess, I used to speed like crazy last time, but have cut down quite a bit. After all, we shouldn't hurry and rush things in life, unless absolutely necessary.

Setting: Sprint Highway heading to Desa Sri Hartamas
Time: 2.40pm

My first reaction on seeing the roadblock was of surprise (you usually don't get roadblocks on a Sunday). Then I thought that it was more of a check for get away criminals or something, till I noticed a policeman observing car number plates and a notebook and gesturing at them whether to move on or to pull aside. No prizes for guessing who got lucky.

M: *lowered window* ya encik? (yes uncle?)

P: kat mana kamu pergi cepat? (where are you going in a hurry?)

M: *excuse mode* nak lawat nenek saya la bang, dia sakit (on the way to visit my grandmother, she's not feeling too well) [i was going to visit my grandma alright, but she wasn't sick :p]

P: tahu tak berapa cepat kamu pergi? dah sampai 98km/h (do you know how fast you were travelling? you reached 98km/h) *points at 80km/h speed limit signboard -_-"

M: Kan kat belakang 100km/h? (I was on the phone, so I didn't notice any camera and wasn't aware of actually how fast I was going -_-)

P: Tak... semua lapan puluh (no.. all eighty). Sekarang bagaimana? Bagi saman? (What should I do? Issue you a summons?)

M: Hmm... tak mau lah... tapi saya tak mau bayar duit pun (No I don't want any, but I will not pay you any (coffee) money either)

P: Saya tak mau duit... saya orang ikhlas punya (I'm not looking for money also.. I'm a person of integrity)

M: *pondering* tak tau lah... aiya.. apa apa la.. kalau nak bagi saman, bagi lah (no idea... aiya.. anything... if you wish to issue me with summons, just give it to me)

P: Ingat ah.. saya orang ikhlas ..saya tak mau duit.. macam ini lah... kamu bayar untuk kos nak ambil gambar (remember.. I'm a man of integrity, I don't want your money.. like this... you can pay for the cost of taking the picture of the car)

P: tolong tunjukkan lesen (Please show me your license) [OMG where is my UK license when I need it :P]

M: *wondering if they actually really do take pictures of speeding cars* oh... berapa itu? (ohh.. how much is that?)

P: Berapa yang kamu nak (How ever much you wish to contribute)

M: *looks in wallet* ermm.. 20 ringgit boleh? (ermm.. twenty Malaysian ringgit?)

P: Boleh lah (Can)

Hence I took out two crisp red notes, held them up prominently and passed it to him. He put his hand inside the car, returned my driving license, took the notes, and crumpled them up into his closed fist before withdrawing. Only after driving off and thinking through his behaviour when he took the money from me had I realised that I had actually bribed the guy -_-" Man of integrity my foot.

A|X

A|X. Supposedly one of the hottest fashion brands around at the moment. The first time when I saw some youths wandering around with the words 'Armani Exchange' emblazed on their t-shirts, I went 'Hmmmm...' because prior to that I had never heard of that particular line by Giorgio Armani (I was more familiar with the Emporio and Giorgio Armani lines).

Hence after doing brief research, I had discovered that it was indeed created by GA. I had completely forgotten about it until one day I went shopping at Lot 10 with Steph, and I saw the two letters 'A|X' staring down at me. Pulled her up and went to take a look at the stuff there. Rm170 for a t-shirt, which is cheap for designer (in fact its comparable price-wise with FCUK), but certainly more expensive than your everyday clothing. I suppose GA wanted to make some of his stuff more affordable.

One thing I must point out is that some of the t-shirts are pretty thin and look dirty when one is wearing them. Grabbed one of them with Steph's help (my mum went 'fuahhh so nice' when she saw it ;) at least until she found out the price heh), and just recently added another which I bought during the Merdeka Sale.

Painful is the Price of Wisdom

My lower right wisdom tooth's fight for freedom from the squalid imprisonment of my gums has been causing me discomfort and pain for the past few days; especially after the gums have gotten infected. Owww. Its much better now thanks to the painkillers and antibiotics that the dentist has given to me, but it still hurts badly when I swallow.